The Ministry of Health has just issued a document responding to voters before the 9th session of the 15th National Assembly. In which, voters of Ninh Binh province requested the Ministry of Health and related ministries and sectors to continue studying the scope of payment for health insurance participants such as expanding the list of health insurance drugs.
Responding to this proposal, the Ministry of Health said that regarding the expansion of the list of health insurance drugs on November 16, 2024, the Ministry of Health issued Circular No. 37 stipulating principles, criteria for developing, updating, recording information, structure of the list and payment instructions for pharmaceutical drugs, biological products, radioactive drugs and markers within the scope of benefits of health insurance participants.
Pursuant to the provisions of Circular No. 37, the Ministry of Health is urgently reviewing, amending, and updating the circular promulgating the drug list to add to the list new drugs with high treatment effectiveness and remove from the list drugs that are no longer suitable.
However, the addition of the list of drugs, medical equipment, and medical technical services to the scope of benefits for health insurance participants needs to be carefully considered to ensure the payment capacity of the health insurance fund.
Before the 9th session of the 15th National Assembly, voters of Dong Thap province (old) sent their opinions to the Ministry of Health requesting attention to balancing revenue from the health insurance fund to have a policy to support exemption or reduction of hospital fees for cases of people with serious illnesses, in order to share difficulties, reduce financial burden for patients and their families, and contribute to the good implementation of social security policies.
Along with that, voters in Ninh Binh province also proposed this issue and said that the medical examination costs that people have to pay are still high.
Voters recommend that competent authorities promptly implement the policy of exempting hospital fees for all people in accordance with the policy that our Party and State have repeatedly emphasized.
Responding to voters, Minister of Health Dao Hong Lan said the consistent goal of the health sector is to develop a fair, effective, quality and sustainable health system, in which the health insurance policy plays a pivotal role. Reducing out-of-pocket spending and increasing access to health services for all people, especially the vulnerable and those with serious illnesses, is one of the key tasks.
The Ministry of Health focuses on perfecting legal regulations related to health insurance, adjusting contribution and benefit levels in accordance with the socio-economic situation, while strengthening management measures, preventing abuse and profiteering of the health insurance fund to preserve and develop the fund.
Closely coordinate with the Ministry of Finance, Vietnam Social Security and relevant ministries and branches to mobilize additional resources from the state budget, medical examination and treatment support funds, funding sources, aid and other socialized sources to support medical examination and treatment costs for people.
Research to gradually expand the scope of health insurance benefits and develop a mechanism to support co-payment costs for vulnerable groups (poor, near-poor, people in difficult circumstances) when suffering from serious illnesses, illnesses requiring long-term treatment, and high costs. This is done on the basis of assessing the impact and balancing the capacity of the health insurance fund and social resources.
The Minister of Health also said that when participating in health insurance, medical examination and treatment costs are partially or fully covered by the health insurance fund, depending on the participant, with different co-payment rates.
The scope of health insurance benefits includes a list of medicines, medical equipment and technical services that fully meet the people's medical examination and treatment needs. Therefore, to minimize financial risks when sick and increase access to quality medical examination and treatment services, people need to fully participate in health insurance.
For subjects identified by the Provincial People's Committee as poor, near-poor or some social policy subjects, the state budget supports the purchase of health insurance cards or covers 100% of medical examination and treatment costs for some cases.
Regarding the proposal to exempt hospital fees, the Ministry of Health is studying feasible and effective solutions to submit to the Politburo, the National Assembly and the Government. To ensure resources, the policy will be implemented according to the roadmap through health insurance, with the scope of health insurance benefits gradually expanding according to the roadmap for suitable subjects.
Source: https://cand.com.vn/y-te/de-xuat-mien-giam-vien-phi-voi-benh-hiem-ngheo-them-thuoc-moi-vao-danh-muc-bhyt-i774854/
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